A variety of different necklace or lanyard type devices have been provided in the past to hold toys or tools. One such lanyard is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,732 to hold game calls. Another such device is the “Gallatin Lanyard” sold by Orvis for holding fly fishing accessories. Such lanyards of the past are problematic in that the weight of the suspended items causes the items to bunch up along or near the center of gravity when the lanyard is worn around the neck of a user. This bunching or clustering problem causes entanglement of the suspended items, making it difficult to retrieve items selected by the user. For example, we have witnessed the frustration of fly-fishing guides, wearing lanyards similar to the Orvis Gallatin Lanyard, when their entangled accessories interfered with their ability to provide quick assistance to their clients.
There have also been a number of different devices in the past that provide means for securing toys within reach of an infant. For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,759 B1 discloses a multi-purpose big adapted to hold a toy, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,039 discloses a utility belt attached to a stroller and including tethers for attaching toys or other items. Such devices of the past cannot be worn by a parent and they provide limited or no interaction between the parent and infant.